Tom yawns, Linda rubs her eyes, Kevin stretches, the letters are swimming before his eyes, the voice of the teacher sounds distant and monotonous, even he is longing for the school bell – silence.

A proper din can be heard from behind the next door: someone jumps up; someone else pushes him back down on his chair “No, I was first”; someone else is already running towards the blackboard “I’ve got it!” Feet and fists are drumming, some even jump up in the air applauding, others walk across the classroom to explain the subject to the others once again – Chaos??

Which of the lessons gave lasting knowledge?! More in...

In particular, mathematics lessons, for example, have the potential to set pupils’ emotions in turmoil, because it’s a matter of a real and fair contest, in which “right” or “wrong” are not opinions and pupils can’t rattle off anything learnt by heart; everything has to be developed on the spur of the moment. It’s the same principle as in football – run with it and tackle and then into the goal!

If there are times in the lesson when kids are running about all over the place, it isn’t “undisciplined” but “engaging”.